Elementary School

I heard that surfing in the rain means that the waves are sometimes bigger.  However, I decided not to go yesterday because there was so much lightning and thunder.  This did not stop Andrew from going, though... I have yet to hear how it went.  


Anyway . . . I am not able to go surfing at ALL this week because I need to get my observation hours in soon and also my parents are coming to visit me this weekend!  I am an elementary education major specializing in Pre-K.  I will not be able to observe in the school next week because the students have to take the FCAT test.  So this week I will be observing 18 hours at Calusa Elementary School.  Today, I went to the elementary school at 8am with Brian Guzman.  It was very enjoyable and the children seemed to really enjoy us being in the classroom.  We were new and exciting people, so whats not to enjoy?  Even though I cannot go surfing at an elementary school, Brian still found a way to do weight lifting there!  We were playing Girls vs. Boys at recess, which means the boys chase the girls around the parking lot.  It was very fun, but then Brian acquired a group of boys that wanted to be lifted up for fun.  Brian lifted the boys just like he would a weight at the gym!  I recorded the process with my amazing camera recording abilities and you can see the video as soon as Brian posts it up on his blog.  Go check it out!  The children loved it, and Brian and I are planning on going back to the school on Thursday for round two!
OVER AND OUT . . . Catie Wolf

Never Give Up

Dear Blog,

I have gone outside and exercised almost every single day this week, but I have not surfed at all this week!

 My goal is to learn how to surf by the end of this class and I am sticking to this plan! 

 I really do what to learn how to surf.  

This blog is getting me out more and doing things like swimming, tennis, bongo ball, skim-boarding, and other things like that. 

 I have really been going out and trying to learn how to surf but I have not yet stood up on the board. 

 By the end of this class I want to ride a wave standing up!

Love,

Catie

BongoBall

So0o0o0o...

Despite the fact that I did not go surfing today, I WAS able to get some exercise in!  Today on campus they were playing this game called BongoBall.  I love paintball!  I love air soft!  And NOW I love BongoBall! I played for a good 4 hours straight with my best friends Andrew, Noah, Shaw, and Stephen. 

BongoBall is a game with many blow up shields to hide behind so it is much more difficult to shoot people.  In BongoBall, each person receives a VERY large and heavy gun that shoots nerf footballs at people.  Andrew, Noah, Shaw, Stephen and I were an undefeatable team and we were playing for 4 straight hours.  We were the only players that did not switch out.  As a team, we worked together on strategies.  Andrew and I were the offence and we would charge the other team and shoot our opposing players.  

SHOOT

SHOOT

SHOOT

We NEVER missed!

After we finished playing we would just shoot around and toss the balls to each other.

I was interviewed twice during the short breaks I took.  I have to admit that this was quite the work out session.  It was my favorite campus activity they have planned this year and I hope they have it more than once next year. 

Exercise is very important and if I am unable to get out and surf one day, then I am going to get out and exercise to stay fit and prepare myself for surfing another day!

Positive Attitude

MAHALOS BRA

Today was absolutely crazy!!  Andrew, Robert, Brian, Dan, and I all went to Spanish river to practice surfing.  Dan is the only one out of all of us that is an avid surfer.  We arrived at the beach, we waxed our surf boards, and we all darted to the water.

As soon as we splashed into the water we immediately got hit by huge, thrashing waves.  The waves were about 5 feet high and coming one right after the other.  I pushed my board under the big waves and paddled out deeper into the ocean.  Surprisingly, the first wave I tried to paddle in I actually caught and surfed ALL the way into shore!  It was the most exhilarating experience of my life!  I never felt so at one with nature before.  I paddled hard for a bit, but after a few seconds I did not even need to paddle anymore.  The wave just took me.  It is crazy that something so vicious took me so smoothly to shore.  

I traded boards with Dan so that I could experience surfing on a long board.  I was starting to get comfortable with surfing on my belly on the surf board, but this is not my goal.  My goal is to stand up on a surf board and actually surf a wave.  

Dan got me in place and held my board for me as I got on it.  He told me to paddle hard on the next wave and as soon as the wave takes me to where I do not need to paddle anymore, try to pop up on my feet.  I did as he said.  I caught a wave.  I paddled until the wave took me and I did not need to paddle.  I popped up on my knees first and . . . BAM!   I went too far forward on the board and I made it dive down into the ocean, taking it with me.  The surf board flipped over me and dragged me to shore.  Andrew was shocked that I wasn't hurt!  He said he saw the surf board fall right on top of where I flew into the water. It must have just missed me.  

(Thats me...)

This did not stop me from running back into the water to try again... and again... AND AGAIN!  At one point, I got on my knees for a second, but then I lost my balance and plummeted into the ocean again. 

I think today was a great learning experience and I really feel like I can succeed with my goal!  I almost got up on my knees.  Once I master that, I can work on popping up on my feet.  All I need is practice and experience.  Ill be going out again tomorrow.  I CANT WAIT!  Sometimes when I try something new ill get frustrated, but surfing is different.  No matter how many times I fall into the ocean and fail on a surf attempt, it does not bring me down.  In fact, it makes me more determined.  Waves are continuous.  As long as the ocean continues to produce waves then I will be there trying to surf until I catch that one perfect wave that ill stand up on and complete my goal. 

P.S. I also tried skim boarding! Andrew tried to teach me how to skim board, he is really good at it! My goal to learn how to surf has introduced me to other things such as long boarding and skim boarding.  

sunburn isn't pretty

Today I decided to go to the lynn university pool and catch some sun and swim some laps.  Swimming laps helps me keep in shape AND it helps with my paddling skills for surfing.  I swam a super 500 freestyle and a few 100s in backstroke and butterfly.  I ended up getting very sunburnt from being in the sun all day swimming laps.  My recommendation would be to wear sunscreen anytime you are outside in FL because otherwise you are going to BURNNNNNNN.   I love swimming, I find it extremely relaxing and peaceful.  It is a great way to keep my body in shape, which is why I participated in swim team all through out high school.   Oh those were the days...

(NOW THIS IS A BLAST FROM THE PAST)

I am looking forward to tomorrow because I am planning on going out tomorrow to go surfing with Andrew again.  We are going to work on paddling some more and HOPEFULLY try to stand up.  I doubt I will be able to stand up because I tried yesterday with no success.  However, Im going to think positively and try my hardest to stand up!  Plus, I might be using a long board tomorrow which will make it easier to keep my balance.

-Catie Wolf

Friends Till The End

LETS CATCH SOME WAVES DUDE

Well . . . I have to say that today was filled with tons of surfing attempts along with a bit of sunburn. I went to the beach with my two best friends: Andrew and Heather.  Heather stayed on the beach to tan and take photographs while Andrew and I ran to the Ocean with our surf boards in hand.  

Thank GOD for Lizzie teaching me the basics to surfing because I think I might have died if I did not know how to paddle or handle big waves.  Lizzie taught me the proper technique to paddling and she also taught me  to push the tip of my board down when a big wave is about to come so that I could go UNDER the wave and stay safe rather than OVER the wave and face the possibility of getting hurt or loosing my board.

The waves were massive today, and Andrew and I paddled our little hearts out into the roaring ocean!  We were both so concentrated with paddling that neither of us realized that the current was taking us further and further down the beach.  At one point I got ahead of Andrew and, after a big wave passed, I looked back to see Andrew all disheveled and half off his board with his sun glasses hanging from one ear.  It was a pretty comical sight!  Those sunglasses did not survived the surfing encounter.  

Andrew and I paddled as far out as possible and then we turned around to catch some waves to surf into shore.  I tried to stand up once and I could tell that it was not going to happen.  Not today, at least.  Andrew and I surfed on our bellies all the way into shore.  I did what Lizzie taught me.  I made an educated guess on what wave to surf in to shore and I paddled with all my might!!  I think I did a pretty good job and I think I definitely learned a bit more about surfing.  Lizzie taught me so much, but I also think it is important to get out on my own so I can learn from trial and error and, most of all, experience!

P E A C E & L O V E